If NBA fans didn’t know just how great the Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray duo is, they sure do now.
The Nuggets stars became the first teammates in NBA history to record 30-point triple-doubles in the same game in Denver’s 109-94 victory over Miami in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The two-time NBA MVP Jokic put up a historic 32-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist stat line, while Murray, the former Kentucky Wildcat, had posted a 34-10-10 effort.
“I’ve been with Nikola for eight and Jamal for seven years now, and we’ve had some pretty good moments, but not in the NBA Finals,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.
“For those guys to make history the way they did tonight, no one has ever done that. That’s what’s really neat about it, you get the win.”
Their performances propelled the Nuggets to a 2-1 series lead.
While Jokic is known for putting up triple-doubles, Murray’s calling card has been scoring and not necessarily filling out the rest of the box score.
The only other instance where Murray accomplished the feat was in January against the Pacers where he recorded 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Throughout the NBA Finals, though, the Nuggets guard hasn’t been afraid to change his game when needed.
Murray joined Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy as the only players in league history to have 10 or more assists in three straight finals games — though Murray is the only player to do it in his first three NBA Finals games of his career.
“He knows where to find the guys and how to control the game,” Jokic said.
Jokic and Murray’s Game 3 effort may have been a precursor to how great this tandem can be, with the chance to rival even Lakers legends Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal for best NBA Finals duo of all time.
In Bryant and O’Neal’s first finals appearance together, they combined for 53.6 points, 21.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.
Through three games now, Jokic and Murray are averaging 59.3 points, 20.7 rebounds and 19.3 assists a night.
If the Nuggets win this series, they could immediately go down as one of the NBA Finals’ all-time best pairings.
The duo will look to inch closer to that title Friday when Denver takes on Miami in Game 4.